


The Lightness of Being

by sukiss



Category: Hana Yori Dango & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Boat Sex, F/M, Rough Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 06:49:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3318020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sukiss/pseuds/sukiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukasa drowns in temptation while visiting a remote fishing village.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not Yokio Kamio
> 
> A/N: Many thanks to my beta Chrasy who held my hands when I wanted nothing more than to tear apart this story.  
> This is a very OC story, more so than anything I’ve written before. I adore Tsukushi and Tsukasa they way Kamio-sensei originally wrote them, but this was begging to be written. The title is from Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Very beautiful but torturous.

“All I see is grass,” Tsukasa complained, adjusting his sunglasses to block the mischievous rays of light peeping over the black frames. “Are you sure this is the way to the sea?”

Next to him Rui gave a lethargic sigh. He had been trying very hard to take a nap but found that Tsukasa’s griping at close proximity was not conducive to sleep. “Mmm-hmm, these were the directions I got from the lawyer.”

“So this was what, your grandfather’s getaway?” 

“Yeah,” came the laconic reply, then silence. 

Tsukasa snorted. Rui was doing what he did best, falling unconscious while leaving Tsukasa with the tedious responsibility of getting to this miserable speck of the country. 

“I don’t know why I even agreed to this,” Tsukasa thought.

Rui had come to him early last week after having been visited by one of the Hanazawa family attorneys. Apparently, his grandfather on his mother’s side had owned a vacation home in one of the more remote coastal areas of Japan, one that had been deeded to Rui’s mother who had promptly forgotten its existence moments after learning its location. “Too far away from shopping for me, darling,” was what Rui had learned from her and it had lain forsaken for many years, until recently, when a developer with an eye for the land found and contacted the attorney for any available owners. The attorney settled for Rui, having heard Hanazawa-san was in New York for the fall fashion season. 

Curious about what his grandfather could have enjoyed in so remote an area, Rui had decided to visit it first hand and had asked Tsukasa to come. 

“I must have been bored,” Tsukasa muttered under his breath. He could have been finishing up the Tata deal by now, calmly pocketing two billion yen at this very moment. Instead, here he was driving through isolated terrain several hours from Tokyo or even civilization. But the truth was that there were few things Rui asked from any of his friends and as such Tsukasa found he was unable to deny Rui’s request.

They continued on a brisk pace, the sleek black car briskly flying through the surrounding area, verdant with rolling green fields lying beneath a crystal blue sky. Following the painstakingly correct directions given by his GPS, Tsukasa noticed a turnoff sign for the seaside village which was the nearest port to the island.

He cuffed Rui, “Wake-up! We’re almost there.” Rui gave a sleepy yawn and stretched a little, in time to see most of the tiny village fly past the windows. As they approached the docks, more and more of the sea became visible, a deep navy blue against rocky, graphite shores. Seagulls flew haphazardly overhead, screaming at each other in violent cacophony, diving towards the white crests of the sea in selfish search for sustenance. Tsukasa pulled the shining black Mercedes up in an empty space alongside the docks. To the left of them stood a bunch of vendors selling wares while below them traversed about thirty feet of wooden docks where a few dinghies and dilapidated fishing vessels lay languishing. 

Tsukasa wrinkled his nose, “If you want to turn back, I won’t laugh at you. This place smells like a dump.” 

Rui shook his head, already opening his door. “That’s just the smell of the sea. Come on.” He began wandering towards the direction of the ships.

Tsukasa lingered to drop his Bluetooth from his ear into the car, but when he looked up Rui was nowhere to be seen. “Where did that baka wander off to?” he grumbled.  
He loped up to the entrances to the boating docks, ignoring the calls of the seller’s plying their goods, so intent on catching up with Rui that he did not see the tiny figure before him until it was under him. Literally.

Tsukasa and the boy both tumbled to the ground, the box the boy has been carrying falling with a noisy crash between them. Tsukasa picked his head up, a thunderous scowl written largely upon his face, staring at the crumpled figure next to him, arms cushioning the small head from the blow of their fall. Tentatively, the small head came up from the safety of its arms and peeked about. Spying his box tumbled down, the apples that had been inside now rolling about in the dirt, the boy’s chubby cheeks creased while liquid started gathering in his eyes. 

“Hey you, stop that!” The boy, stunned by the loud shout next to his ear, froze before he could begin wailing. 

“That’s better,” Tsukasa stood up and picked up the box. “Hurry up, these apples are just going to get dirty if you sit there.” The boy scrambled up and followed Tsukasa’s lead of gathering up the fallen apples. 

Once they were all returned to their box, Tsukasa handed the box back to the boy. “Here,” Tsukasa said, tossing two bills at the boy and took two apples from the box. 

The boy stared at the 1000 yen notes in his hand. “I don’t have the change for this, Sir.”

“First lesson in business kid, keep everything you get. I gave you that, I took what I wanted, you keep the rest. Got it?”

The boy nodded his head solemnly. 

“Good. Now go do your job.”

“Yes, Sir!” exclaimed the boy, straightening his shoulders. Tsukasa gave a small grin, watching the boy run off in the opposite direction. 

Rui looked behind him for Tsukasa, but after a fruitless search, he merely shrugged his shoulder and boarded the boat, idly wondering if Tsukasa had had to answer a business call. “If it won’t take long, let’s go and come back.” The other man nodded as he started up the outboard motor and within moments the boat launched from the dock.

Tsukasa strode up to the dock, but no Rui was in sight. “Shit,” he cursed, “where did he go?” He took out his cell phone but it had no signal. “Damn it!”

“Are you looking for your friend?” Tsukasa turned to see a girl next to him sitting on the wooden deck barrier. Arching a brow, he sneered down at her, knowing his glare was pure intimidation itself.

The girl merely smiled at him.

“She must be retarded,” he thought. “How did you know I was looking for my friend?”

“Oh, there are not too many new people that come here. I think he went to one of the islands in Kiyori Sound – I overhead him tell Chiaki-san before they left.” She paused to watch Tsukasa digest this, which, interpreting the alarming redness coming into his face was going down rather badly.

“I can take you there, but there’s some bumpy wind on the way. Can you handle it?”

Tsukasa looked above; a clear blue sky sparkled back down at him. He lifted a brow up at the girl.

She shrugged, “It’s a gift I have.”

He snorted at her comment. “Even if there was a whole typhoon headed here – which I don’t believe – I can handle worse.”

“Gosh, you sure talk a lot,” the girl commented, leaping lightly down from her perch onto the boardwalk.

A vein throbbed on Tsukasa’s forehead, as he watched her turn her laughing face away from him.

“But if you think you can deal,” the girl threw over her shoulder, a slim hand beckoning as she sauntered down the dock.

Tsukasa raised a brow, “Who did this girl think she was?” But he was forced to follow her if he wanted to find Rui. Cursing his friend, Tsukasa made his way to the skiff she was climbing into. The _tiny_ skiff she was climbing into. 

“What is this? A toy?” he complained, bracing his hand against the rail. With a lithe glide he swung himself aboard, landing directly before her. 

She gazed straight up at him. “Brat,” she said and shifted away.

Tsukasa felt his temper rising. “Hey, who do you think I am?” _Who the hell did she think she was dealing with?_ He looked at her more closely, for once interested in the female before him. Dressed in a simple red and white checked blouse, canvas shorts and sandals, she appeared no more than an urchin from the back as she unfurled lines of rope off the mast. But as she turned, Tsukasa saw the shapely curves of her body, high round breasts, smooth waist atop slim, tapering legs. She was more than a head shorter than him and nowhere close to the sophistication that he expected in his women, but…

“But what? She’s nothing,” he rebuked himself for wasting even a moment thinking about this wench before him.

She muffed a laugh, pulling in the mooring line. With economical movements, she had them pushed off the dock and afloat, heading towards the dark splashes of land at the end of the horizon.

Seated at the stern, Tsukasa kept watch for some sign of where Rui could be. He felt something soft pressing against his back and, turning around, found the girl gently leaning against him, tying rope onto the mast. She felt his eyes on her and tilted her head back, smiling at him sunnily. 

“My name is Tsukushi by the way.”

His eyebrow twitched again. “Either she’s retarded or…” unable to complete the thought.

“Tsukasa,” he said gruffly, turning back to watch their progress, ignoring the sensation as her soft body lifted off from his.

“Well, I would say it’s nice to meet you, but I don’t think you would care too much about that.” He whipped around to glower at her, but she merely gave him an innocent look. 

“Do you know which island it is?” 

“You mean there’s more than one?” 

This time she openly laughed at him, tugging on the ropes and pulling the sail against the wind. As the breeze swept them along the glittering water, he caught himself watching the girl as she danced around the skiff, skillfully manipulating the gears and ropes. Her hair, sun-kissed a warm brown shade, flew as she bustled about, silky strands of cherry wood contrasting with her fair coloring which was a luminescent pearl tone, oddly preserved from the tanning effects of the light. 

“Do you do this for a living?” Tsukasa was surprised to hear himself ask. He was never interested in others, and though for some bizarre reason he seemed absorbed by this girl, Doumyoujis **never** indulged in idle chat.

Or had not before.

The girl paused, “Yes, I ferry people, supplies and cargo around the harbor. Sometimes I harvest oysters, but not often.”

“It seems weird for someone your age to be stuck here doing things like that. You can’t be making much money,” he remarked arrogantly.

She stood before him, her hands in fists on her hips and tilted her head. “No, I don’t make too much money. But,” she said, spreading her arms open, “I’m out here all day and I make enough to keep me and my family going.” She gazed back at him, placing her hands on her hips, “You don’t need much when you have peace.”

Tsukasa stared after her as she stepped away to adjust some of the gears. “When have I ever experienced peace?” he thought bitterly. His mind wandered as they cut through the waves, rapidly traveling through the sparkling blue water. Within very little time, they reached the nearer island.

Tsukasa stood up, leaning forward in the stern to see if he could spot Rui. “Oh,” Tsukushi said ruefully, coming to stand next to him. “They’re not here.”

He turned to gaze at her, surprised to find her so close beside him. “What do you mean?”

She clasped his upper arm, lifting her own to point at the empty dock. “The boat would have been tied up there.” She gave him a crooked smile and squeezed his arm lightly. “We’ll keep trying.”

Taken aback, Tsukasa watched in silence as she scampered down to pull the sail out, turning them about. Unaccustomed to women casually touching him, he felt the warmth of her palm as if seared into his flesh.

He sprawled down onto the bench, not bothering to mask his steady scrutiny of this girl who seemed so unafraid of him. Sensing his eyes on her, Tsukushi looked up from fastening the sail line and winked at him. Unnerved, Tsukasa twisted away, but found his glance returning to her figure over and over as they glided along the waves. “There was something about her…” he thought in angry confusion, annoyed at himself for the way he kept thinking about her.

Over the next hour, they tried another island with no luck. The air around them grew damp as the humidity increased. “Whew,” Tsukushi breathed, when they left the second island, “it’s getting worse.”

Swiping at his brow, Tsukasa could only nod. “Where is this damn kid?” he muttered.

“Hey!” 

Tsukasa turned his glare onto Tsukushi.

“Can you pull this line in?” she asked. Raising his brows at her request, he nevertheless crossed to where she stood and tugged on the line she pointed to.

“What was wrong with your hands?” he asked, turning to look at her, only to find her undoing the last three buttons of her blouse.

He watched dry mouthed as she tied the ends of the blouse beneath her breasts, deepening her cleavage and leaving her figure before his eyes. 

“Pull it in tighter.” Tsukasa looked up at her words, his eyes having become glued to her round breasts. Her hazel eyes shimmered with light. “You have to pull the line in tighter or we’ll slip,” she said, placing her hands on top of his and tugging gently.

Swallowing hard, he did as Tsukushi had instructed, his fingers caught between her smaller ones as they pulled the sail taut. He could feel the smooth glide of her fingers along his, could feel the satin of her hands as they worked together to put the boat back out. She lifted her hands off and as he tied the now taut line, he noticed his hands shaking and clenched them into tight fists.  
“It’s because this is the first time I’m touching a middle-class wench,” he told himself fiercely, ignoring the electric heat arcing in his belly. But even with this attempt at self-assurance, Tsukasa could not seem to move his eyes from her, even going so far as to answer her constant chattering something he would never have done before. His monosyllabic answers did nothing to discourage her questions and before long, he had discovered that he had divulged quite a bit of his life in Tokyo. 

It was as they were nearing the third island that the sky around them changed, becoming charcoal with fierce looking clouds. 

“I think it’s time we turned back,” she said

“Why?”

“The wind might be too strong for us.”

“Nothing is too strong for me.”

As if waiting for his challenge, the strong wind which had been gliding them ever faster across the water, surged with maddening fury against the canvas. The line loosened from the angry wind, causing the sail to start flapping. Tsukasa jumped on the line, bringing it in.

Tsukushi began pulling on different gears, all the while gently instructing him on how to handle the sail. Tiny drops of water splattered across the deck of the skiff as the wind howled around them, tossing them against harsh waves. Tsukasa’s heart was racing as they crashed through the water towards the island before them. With a loud smack, they banged up against the dock extending from the rocky beach. Moving quickly, Tsukushi shored them up and dropped anchor, turning to Tsukasa when she was finished.

“Not bad,” she shouted, grinning at him.

Exhilarated with emotion, Tsukasa turned to her excited laughter, his eyes alight with pleasure. “Not bad? I was fantastic! When can we do that again?”

Her eyes crinkled at the expression on his face. “Whenever you want First Mate Tsukasa.”

“First Mate? It’s Captain, lady!”

She tugged the line from his hands, her hair whipping around him. “It’s Captain Tsukushi, not Captain Lady,” she giggled.

Tsukasa laughed, more amused than he could remember by the little sprite before him. He was still chuckling when she dropped the line, reached up and kissed him.

For one, long moment, he stood unsure of what was happening. 

_Why is she kissing me?_

Then with a deep groan, he surged against her, pulling her tightly against him. He had been tantalized by her for the last few hours, watching the strands of her smoky brown hair swaying, the pink lushness of her lips as they smiled at him more often than he had ever seen any woman do before. 

Eager to savor her, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, his large hand wrapped around her head. As he ravaged her lips, the taste of her, sweet, spicy cinnamon exploded on his tongue and clouded his mind, causing his head to spin. 

_What the hell was he doing?_ He was losing his cool over some girl he didn’t even know! But even as thoughts of spurning her went through his head, he pulled her closer to him, crushing her satiny lips as his tongue drove into her mouth. 

She gasped, allowing his bruising kiss, submissive to the ravaging of his tongue. Clutching tightly onto his shirt front, she arched herself against him, thrusting her breasts against his chest, tormenting him by their cushiony softness. Intoxicated by her, he kissed her harshly still, his tongue raping the inside of her mouth. Her fingers dug into his skin, causing his mind to lift slightly from the lust drowning him. 

“Fuck!” he thought, “What the fuck am I doing?” 

A part of Tsukasa was screaming about the craziness he was committing. He didn’t know who she was or what her motives were – but since he had followed her, he had been trapped. Since the beginning he had been fascinated by her, more than he had ever been of any other woman. _Ever._ Who was he to deny himself temptation when thrown against him – since she wanted it, invited it, he would fuck her senseless.

“Mmm,” she mouthed, drawing her slim arms around his neck. Her fervor ignited his and he wrapped his hands around her bottom, lifting her up into his arms. She whimpered at the movement and he kissed her harder, needing to brand her softness. 

She softly hummed against his mouth, her fingers skimming through the short hair on the back of his head. With a growl, he lowered her onto the floor of the deck, breaking away to look down at her. She was panting, her eyes glazed over with desire and he wanted to take her, hard and rough, to sink in the sin of her. Unable to help himself, he trapped her beneath him, his hands going to her blouse. 

“Yes,” she whispered, her hands going around his neck, bringing him closer to her. Driven by the hazy, drugged look in her eyes, he popped open her blouse as she slipped her hand down his chest, his skin burning where she touched him. 

“Oh my God,” he groaned, his hands drawn to the aching roundness of her breasts. She shivered with pleasure as his fingers found her erect nipples through the satin of her bra. She nibbled on one corner of his mouth, drawing his sweater off of him, her hands like butter across his burning hot skin.

Her breasts jiggled from the movement of the boat, her nipples hardened and thrusting, demanding his attention. His mouth watering, he unhooked her bra and tossed it aside, mesmerized by the sight of her pouting breasts. “Look at you,” he groaned, staring up at her in shock. 

He barely knew her but now there was not a damn thing she could do from stopping him. Tsukasa lowered his mouth to her breast, drawing her teasing nipple into his mouth. The scent of her, intoxicating cherries, tart and bursting surged through him; he ravaged her breasts, first one and then the other, lavishing rasping kisses to her nipples, marking her skin as his. Above them the wind raced and howled, but neither noticed, each surrendering to the lust they found in the other.

Raising herself up, Tsukushi wrapped her hands around his head, coming up to kiss him, swallowing all the air within him, then with a flick of her hands, she pushed him back. 

“Hey!” he rasped. _I have to have her!_

He was angrily aware of the desperation clawing through him, such that he had never felt before – that he wanted her more than anything else. _Needed her._

With a sultry smile, she unhooked the button to her shorts and he watched with hungry eyes as she slowly, painfully, shimmied out of her shorts, her hips swaying before him. He threw a punishing arm around her, slamming her naked body against his. She gave a breathy giggle as he attacked her neck, marking her. “Do you think you can get away now?” he muttered. “Too fucking late.”

She gasped, “Who wants to get away?” She slid her hands down to the clasp of his belt and then his pants, lowering both as she undid them. Tsukasa let go of her then to kick them off, making short shrift of his boxers as well. As he tossed them, she took the chance to wrap her hands around his straining cock. Her pupils blackly dilated, her breath escaping her in puffs of ragged air, she looked at him and licked her lips, her hands playing over the head of his cock. “Not me.”

He went nuts feeling her hands on him and knew that he had to be in her or he would disgrace himself. “Good, because I’m going to fuck you into this boat.” He dragged her to him, thrusting his mouth against her, his hands on either side of her head, drawing her inexorably to the varnished seaboard. She gasped, feeling the hard heat of him against her, encasing her completely as his much larger body draped over her. Ripping his mouth from hers in order to inhale much needed air, he parted her legs, mesmerized by the loveliness of her body. He looked up at her, for a moment, one second of doubt claiming him.

_Why is this happening? he thought. Why does she want this?_

As his scorching gaze rose up her hips, her slim, tapering waist, her breasts thrusting in the air from the force of her breaths, she smiled at him, an image of divine passion against the dark varnished board.

She raised her knees to either side of him, her slim pale thighs contrasting with the dark hardness of his body, pulling him in. “Tsukasa,” she begged. Control slipped his grasp, his lust for her roaring through his ears louder than the waves, louder than the dying storm surging over them. 

He sank into her, her needy noises goading him. He slammed her against the wood, his cock in the warmest, tightest pussy he had ever felt. The heat that surrounded him was unimaginable, the soft, sweet feel of her beneath him, causing him to become more brutal as he drove her into the wood beneath them again and again. 

Breathing harshly, he stared down at her, which was a mistake because the sight before him had his cock even harder than before. Tsukushi had her eyes closed and was panting for breath, her mouth forming inaudible whimpers. He leaned his head forward and heard a soft mantra: _“Tsukasa, Tsukasa, Tsukasa…”_

He forced her into a punishing rhythm, driving her to gasp louder, while he moved his hand between their bodies to the center of her. Finding her clit, he thumbed it with one large, blunt finger. 

“Ohhh,” Tsukushi cried, convulsing around him as her orgasm swept through her. The silky contractions squeezing his cock, drew on him, drew on the last remaining shreds of resistance he had as his cock exploded within her. The strength of his orgasm blew him away as shudders of deep pleasure racked his body in seemingly unending waves. He struggled for air as the woman beneath him wrapped her slim arms around him, holding onto him as he let go of everything, _all of it,_ cradled in her. 

Forcing his eyes open from the drugging tendrils of pure madness that had claimed him, Tsukasa looked at her, uncertain of her reaction. She lay beneath him trying to catch her breath, her smooth skin gleaming in the sun, a lovely blush of red highlighting her cheekbones. 

She reached up to flutter his hair. “I love your curls,” she whispered and kissed him softly. As her little tongue slid into his mouth, he felt his heart begin to pound once more.

 _She is a witch._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was flourishing the sky with hues of pink and bright orange as they made their way back to the mainland. Tsukasa stood behind her, breathing in the scent of her hair as they slowly crested right into dock. He swung himself onto the dock and tied up the line that she tossed out to him. She stood on the boat and smiled down at him. “You look so pleased with yourself.

“I am,” he exclaimed arrogantly. 

“Why? We never found your friend.”

“Tsukushi!” 

At the sound of her name, they both turned. Tsukasa watched Rui come towards them with a middle aged woman in tow.

“Oh, Tsukasa, there you are. We were looking for you,” Rui said, coming to stand before his friend. 

“We?”

Rui gestured to the woman next to him who was giving them both a slightly surprised look. “This is Makino-san. She thinks you took her daughter.”

Tsukasa glanced at Tsukushi who was blushing lightly at the phrasing Rui had used. 

He smirked, “I did take her.”

Tsukushi cleared her throat, “Uh, Mom, I went to help him find his friend.”  
She jumped down, coming to stand next to Tsukasa. She bowed to Rui, “We were looking for you, but got stuck in the wind squall for a bit.”

“Yes, I went to look at the island.”

“Yah and left me behind,” Tsukasa grumbled. 

Rui gave him a startled look, “But you don’t seem as upset as you should be.”

“Ah well,” Tsukasa rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Tsukushi popped out a hand with an apple in it. “Here, have an apple,” she remarked quickly to Rui.

Rui blinked at it. “Thank you,” he replied, taking it from her. Tsukasa casually waved at him, “Rui, this is Tsukushi. Tsukushi, my friend Hanazawa Rui.”

Tsukushi’s mother cleared her throat. “My, you boys don’t seem like you come from anywhere around here. What do you do? From looking at you, you both look like rich businessmen.”

“Mom!” Tsukushi exclaimed. Clearly embarrassed by her mother’s behavior, Tsukushi grabbed her by the hand and walked her down the dock ahead of the men, whispering furiously to her.

As they strolled behind the women, Tsukasa turned to Rui. “How was your grandfather’s house?”

Rui tossed something towards him; on reflex Tsukasa caught it and found a pair of keys in between his hands.

“Oh, it was very nice,” he said carelessly. 

“You gonna sell it?” Tsukasa asked.

Rui pondered a moment. “No. It’s peaceful here.” He paused, “I can come here to sleep.”

Tsukasa rolled his eyes at him.

They caught up to Tsukushi and her mother who had stopped at the parking area beyond the dock. The vendors had already left and the only vehicle in the dusty area was Tsukasa’s car. 

“Well!” Makino-san began after seeing their car, but stopped abruptly after a poke from her daughter. Noticing the glare her offspring was giving her, she merely smiled at the two men. “Ho, ho, ho, well, thank you for returning my daughter to me.” She bowed to them, “Come back any time. Tsukushi is always free.”

“Mom!” Tsukushi cried, becoming bright red. Tsukasa laughed while Rui looked on in mild bewilderment. Tsukasa absentmindedly gave Rui a shove towards the car, still smirking at the girl. “Get in.”

As Rui moved toward the passenger side, he glanced up to see Tsukasa grab something from the girl’s hand - his sunglasses, as her mother wandered off. He was about to turn away when he saw something that couldn’t have been: Tsukasa gliding a finger along the lips of the girl. 

Rui blinked. _“What?”_

He leaned his head forward for a deeper look but all he saw was Tsukasa coming towards him. 

“Let’s go,” Tsukasa said breezily striding unbeknownst past the dazed face of his friend towards the parked black Mercedes. 

Rui shook his head a bit. “Maybe I’m hungry,” he thought in some concern.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Tsukasa fumed. 

For more than a week, all he had thought about was her. For ten long nights he had held firm against going back to see her, denied himself the feel of her body along his, hearing her cries, thinking each night would be the last he would crave her. 

He had examined himself after returning home, furiously questioning what had happened to him, how a _peasant_ was able to penetrate through his rigid fastidiousness. When he had gone out with his friends, he had scrutinized the women who had followed them, each beautifully dressed with exquisite faces and forms, and had doubted how he had been tempted by such an ordinary female. 

He was not a man who had needed women before; a man of his stature, women flocked to him like so many brightly colored squawking birds, more interested in the tidbits he fed them than anything else. He had limited use, limited patience for that behavior, and fleeting appeal, momentary pleasure which was as promptly forgotten had been the extent of his experiences – until little over a week ago. 

Last night as he lay sleepless _yet again_ trying to forget her, he had speculated why she had started it. What had she been thinking when she had kissed him? He could discern no answers other than to feel ensnared by this, this siren who had shown him the delight of her body and drugged his mind. 

“Now,” he smirked sarcastically to himself, “now, I can’t even control my own head.” He stomped on the gas, the engine of the Mercedes roaring as it tore down the silent stretch of road, furious with her, with himself but knowing that he had to do this, he had to go back.

Shortly, he turned into the familiar dusty parking area. As he opened the door, Tsukasa wondered what he would do if she wasn’t at the dock. “Goddamnit,” he cursed, but slammed the door shut after he had emerged. He would find her, he had to.

Thrusting his keys into his pocket, he strode past the vendors to the dock entrance. As he turned into the wooden dock, the sun’s glare reflecting off of the shimmering water caught his eye. Lifting up a hand for shade, he scanned the waterways. Most of the fisherman had returned by now, their boats tied up and down the docks, cluttering his view.

He strode down the main dock, feeling his heart drumming in his chest. “Goddamnit,” he muttered again, then stopped. Half hidden between two lanky skiffs, he saw a skein of glossy brown hair swinging. His heart increased its pounding, blood drumming in his ears as he moved towards it. He saw her, throwing some lines into her boat from the dock; she was absorbed in her activity and did not notice his approach at all. Standing before her, thoughts of any other women vanished. _She was lovely._ Her small, tight body working lithely, her hair shining in the sun. Desire clawed through his belly, more furious than the last after more than a week of denial, and unable to stand in silence any more, he cleared his throat. She looked up in surprise.

Tsukasa felt an uncertainty foreign to him. “What if it hadn’t meant anything to her?” he thought, sudden acid roiling in his stomach. 

“I, uh, b-”

He was interrupted by an armful of girl and the crash of soft lips against his own. Acting on instinct alone, he crushed her to him, his tongue demanding entrance into her mouth. 

_Finally…_

Relief washed over him as he was assaulted by the spicy taste of her, the taste he had hungered after for ten long nights and swore for depriving himself of her for this long. 

“Oh!” She broke the kiss off to breathe in air, her hands pressed against his chest. 

“Where can we go?” he panted.

“There is nowhere good around here,” she huffed. Her lips were red from his kisses, and the insane lust he had felt for her one week ago surged through him, crashing into his heart and ripping the breath from his lungs. He needed to crush her lips beneath his and swooped his head down to swallow her once more.

Suddenly, Tsukasa remembered the keys Rui had left; they were still in his car after the first time they had come. He broke apart, grinning as he saw her dazed expression. “We can go to the island house. We just have to find it.”

“Oh yes, Chiaki-san told me which island it was after you had left; but what about your friend? Will he mind if we go there?”

“He won’t care,” Tsukasa replied arrogantly, caressing her soft bottom.

Tsukushi giggled, the sound causing his cock to twitch. Clenching her hair in his fist, he kissed her roughly, relishing in the small gasps she made as he drove his tongue into her mouth. He couldn’t stop kissing her, the intoxicating scent of her pulsating in his mind impatiently. When they broke apart, Tsukushi slid down along his body, a dark blush blooming along her cheeks. 

“I think we had better go,” she said, her voice trembling. “Now.”

Mesmerized by the shining in her eyes, Tsukasa could only nod in response. With difficulty, he tore his eyes from hers and sprinted back to his car. After he grabbed the keys, they launched the skiff towards the Hanazawa guest house.

When they had slid out from the harbor, Tsukasa paused to examine her in the light of the sun, his eyes narrowed on her figure moving across the skiff. She slid on graceful feet around the boat, unafraid of hard work, her hair gleaming in the sun. He stared fiercely at her, a slight grimace forming. _What the hell was this feeling that was consuming him?_ This raw need to come back, to find her…and take her.

Oblivious to the nature of his thoughts, she turned to him, the sun shining behind her, and smiled at him. “I’m glad you came,” she murmured. He swallowed hard and looked away. If he kept staring at her, he would take her where she stood and _hell_ if he was going to fuck her in her boat again. 

Within the space of a half hour they had reached the island the Hanazawa family owned. The house was built a few yards out from the beach in a modern style; as they went in, Tsukushi’s eyes widened at the European style furnishings. It looked freshly cleaned and laid out and Tsukasa surmised that Rui had sent a cleaning team over already. 

“Oh wow,” she enthused, “everything is so nice and neat! It’s like a resort villa.”

Tsukasa was only half paying attention, intent on watching Tsukushi who flitted about examining the villa. He could smell her, the scent of fresh air mixed with the wildness of the ocean tempting him, dragging him ever closer to her. As he approached her, as the exotic fragrance of her clouded his mind, his mouth watered for her…for the taste of her.

He grabbed her in mid-praise and flinging chairs aside, sprawled her out on the teak dining table next to them ignoring her gasp of surprise.

“Tsukasa!” she exclaimed as landed with a harsh smack. He loomed over her, hastily undoing the zipper on her denim shorts. Her eyes were rounded in shock, her jaw unhinged at his brutal demands.

He ripped her shorts off along with her knickers, tossing them over his shoulders. Skimming his fingers lightly along her smooth legs, he parted her slim thighs, sinking his head in between. 

“Oh,” she breathed a strangled whimper, realizing what he sought. Tsukasa gave her a wicked smile and dipped his head forward, placing his lips against her left knee. His lips moving against her skin, he marveled in the satiny soft skin. 

“She is divine,” he thought, caught up in the dark rising of lust, a violent urge within him causing him to bite down and mark her as his. She squealed in shock, her fingers reaching out to tug on his black curls. With a smile against her skin, Tsukasa slid his lips over the wounded skin, soothing the ache he had caused her. Tsukushi’s eyelids dropped as he kissed his way up her thigh, at times gently biting and licking his way to her core. 

When he had reached the split of her pussy, he swiped his tongue against her slit. She convulsed, unprepared for the shock of pleasure. Lifting his head up, he gave her a devilish smirk. 

“Scared?” he taunted.

“No,” she spat, annoyed that he was laughing at her. She tried to fold her legs together, forcing him off of her, but he refused to allow it. His fingers like manacles around her slight ankles, he threw her legs over his shoulders. As he came nearer, Tsukushi became more agitated, her fingers finding his arms braced on either side of her hips, and dug them into his wrists. With a colossal smirk, he returned to his goal, tonguing her soft skin. Strangling a gasp, Tsukushi picked her head up to watch him find and lavish her clit with warm kisses. 

“Ohhh, Tsukasa,” she whimpered. His tongue traveled lower from her clit, dipping into her. He could taste her on his tongue, the warmth of her response and excitement exploding in his mouth. 

“You taste delicious,” he rasped, “just like I knew you would. Just like you smell.”

“What?” she asked dazedly, her entire being concentrated on what he was doing between her thighs, her hands clutching frantically on his curls. 

“Luscious,” he continued, before thrusting his tongue into her, licking along her walls. Her hips bucked back and he had to clamp his hands around her waist, imprisoning her inexorably before him. 

“Tsukasa!” she wailed, her breaths tumbling out of her. “Oh my God!”

Tsukasa returned to her clit, thrumming it with the tip of his tongue. He weaved a path between the burning center of her and her clit, her hums of pleasure filling the air as he feasted on her. His dick was stone-hard with the silkiness of her coating his tongue, her soft cries and whimpers swirling about his ears, the feel of the bliss vibrating through her all crashing to fuel his own throbbing response. 

“Oh, oh, oh,” she gasped, her breathing growing more torn and he knew she was close to climax. Stopping, he lifted himself to look down on her. She lay before him on the table, her hair tumbled about, her top pushed aside by her own hands, her breasts thrusting with the haste of her breathing, naked from the waist down. “Please,” she begged, tugging on his forearms, “please, Tsukasa!”

Yearning burned through him and he leant forward, his lips possessing hers with a savage kiss. She wrapped her hands around his head as his tongue invaded her mouth, as her own taste filled her. He rapidly undid the buckle to his khakis, wrenching them down along with his boxers as Tsukushi tore at the buttons on his shirt. His cock sprang out, engorged and red, fluid leaking from its tip, aching to be sheathed within her. Grasping her by the waist, he slowly inched down, pulling her until she was flush against him.

“Mmm,” she panted, her hands clutching at his forearms. Tsukasa began to thrust in and out, forcing her into his rhythm by sheer strength. The table began to shake underneath them as they were surrounded by the ecstasy that had engulfed them a mere week prior. Tsukasa could barely hold on, the leash of his control straining against the hot wetness of her, the delicate cries coming from her as she pleaded with him to release her. With a harsh bark from deep in his chest, he thrust forward, sinking over her, his elbows slamming against either side of her head as plunged into the depths of the succulent creature under him, his cock pounding against the opening of her womb and forcing his hot seed into her. 

“What the fuck did I wait for? I should have been back here the next day,” he groaned, his release cresting through him. Tsukushi’s hands had found purchase on his shoulders and she dug her nails into him, the pain twisting wickedly with the pleasure riding through him. 

”I wish you had,” she cried. “Ohhh,” she whimpered as her orgasm took her. 

He watched in fascination as she shivered beneath him, her throat stretched, droplets of sweat clinging to her skin as she floated on the delight he had given to her. “She’s beautiful,” he marveled. _Beautiful._

With a deep sigh, he leaned in, placing soft kisses along her closed eyes while his hand curved along her jaw, his thumb dipping into her butterfly mouth. “Ahhh,” she gasped delightfully, still consumed by the tide of her bliss, her teeth biting down on his thumb in a sharp snap. 

When she was able to stand, they went in search of the bedroom, their clothes strewn along the way. She scampered out of his grasp, forcing him to chase her laughing form around the bed, gasping when he caught her and tumbled her onto the wide bed. Her wild laughter, her gorgeous body, he was consumed with want for her, exploring every soft, yielding inch before him, the sun dipping low in the window next to them as he devoured her. 

It was late evening before Tsukasa realized how hungry he was but they searched the house in vain finding no food anywhere. 

“Wait a second,” Tsukushi said, running out the door, clad only in Tsukasa’s shirt. 

“Hey,” he called out after, watching her scampering across the beach to the dock where the skiff was stationed. “Crazy girl,” he scoffed, going after her. Before he was even half-way to the dock, she reemerged, coming towards him with a small package in her hand. 

“Look,” she said eagerly. “I found some ramen,” holding the package up to him. 

Tsukasa raised a brow at her, “Some what?”

Tsukushi rolled her eyes, “Ramen. They’re noodles.” She scoffed, “Don’t you know anything?”

Tsukasa shrugged, slightly irritated that she was mocking him. “Not commoner’s things.” He opened the door and thrust her inside.

He was surprised to feel her arms go around his waist, pulling him in. “So does this mean I’m your teacher on ‘common’ things?” she teased, her hands caressing along his back. 

He pushed her backwards against the side of the entryway armoire, his fists crashing against either side of her head. “Hmm, maybe,” he commented, his lips hovering over hers. 

Her eyes falling, Tsukushi swallowed, “Maybe?”

“It depends on how you cook,” he replied, straightening off of her and striding into the kitchen, getting his own back for her teasing.

“Ahh,” he heard her gasp of outrage and chuckled. 

“She is so easy to aggravate,” he thought, smirking as she stuck her tongue out at him. He was having more fun with her than he had had in a long time. 

Flouncing past him to light the stove, she efficiently began cooking the packaged noodles as he lent against the counter, watching her. While she worked, she kept up a running monologue of why it was important to know about noodles and how to cook them when the world ended. He raised his brow at her back, wondering if she even believed the things coming out of her mouth.

“Done!” she chimed, shooing him to the table. As he was seating himself, Tsukushi placed a red bowl filled with noodles in broth, hot steam wafting up. She placed chopsticks next to him and went to retrieve her own bowl while he examined the contents of his bowl with a dubious look on his face. Tsukasa lifted some noodles between his chopsticks. “You want me to eat this?” he complained.

“Fine then, since you don’t want it, I’ll eat it,” she said calmly, reaching out for his bowl.

“Hey!” He yanked his bowl out of her reach. “Get your own noodle.”

She smiled at him and returned to her own bowl. He dug in, his widening after his first bite. “Hey, this is good!” he exclaimed, his chopsticks moving faster. 

“See, commoners are good for something,” she teased. 

After they had finished eating, she stood up, gathering his dish along with hers to wash and had turned when he abruptly grabbed her wrist. 

“Thanks,” he said gruffly.

She looked at him, startled into silence. He let her go but she didn’t move away.

“Shit! Why did I say that?” Tsukasa cursed himself silently. To her he said, “It was the first time someone,” he paused, “actually a woman other than someone I’ve paid has cooked for me.”

She blinked at him in surprise. “No one has cooked for you? I mean, not even the women in your family or a girlfriend?”

He twisted away from the look in her eyes. “No,” he said roughly, “no one has done that for me.” 

He stood up and, unable to meet the curiosity in her gaze, strode out of the room. After a few moments he heard the rush of water; with a sigh, he went outside, the cool night air breezing over him as he sprawled out in one of the large wooden deck chairs facing the sea. 

A crescent moon lit the vast blackness of the water, both the moon and its twin in the water glimmering before him but he was blind to their beauty, his thoughts centered inward. He thought about his life, the barrenness of never ending days of the same and contemplated his return to this speck of nothing, his return to this girl. “Is this a sign of incipient madness?” he thought, remembering the compulsion that had seized him earlier, driving him out of Tokyo…to come back to her.

He heard the door shutting behind him and then the sand shifting under her steps. Silently, she came to him; he dragged his eyes away from the sea to look up at her and found her watching him with concern in her light brown eyes. He held out a hand to her and she took it, sliding gently into his lap. She placed both of her hands against his temples, kneading lightly. Closing his eyes to her relaxing touch, he felt her stop after a few moments, her hands drawing his head down so that her lips caught his own in a soft kiss. With one smooth motion, he lifted her up in his arms, breaking the kiss to rest his forehead against hers for a brief moment. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her head in his neck and he carried her inside to their bed. As he laid her down, the moonlight glistening off her skin, her eyes wide and inviting, Tsukasa felt his heart clench.

“If this is madness,” Tsukasa thought, feeling Tsukushi’s warm arms wrap around him, feeling her tug him down, “then let me lose myself.” _Please…_

The dawn, peeping shyly through the window, woke them in bed the next morning. Both finding they were ravenous, they decided to leave and quickly went through separate ablutions. After the explosion of emotions between them the previous night, Tsukasa remained quiet, noting Tsukushi also seemed more pensive. With little spoken between them, they rearranged the bed clothes and locked-up, boarding the skiff silently.

As they set off, Tsukasa turned to her, “What will you tell your parents? 

“I radioed the harbor master yesterday to give them a message that I had a heavy ferry and would stay in my skiff.”

She didn’t say anything after that and Tsukasa turned away, a weight bearing down on his chest. She hadn’t mentioned anything about him coming back. _Did she not want him to return?_ He could feel himself scowl, his temper rising as she remained unusually reticent. Silently they made their way back to harbor, Tsukasa hopping out immediately when they had docked.

This was it, he thought, his heart clenching, but he forced the feeling into something he could handle: rage. “She is out of her mind if she thinks I’m going to leave quietly,” he thought angrily and prepared to browbeat her into seeing him again. 

“Am I going to see you again?”

Spinning around, he saw her gazing straight up at him, only the slight wringing of her fingers betraying her internal tension. Relief crashed through him, relieving the cold numbness that had been spreading at the root of his anger. He stared at her for a moment, masking the burst of emotions with a nonchalance that he did not feel. 

He reached out and wrenched her forward by the collar of her shirt, kissing her hard. As if lit on fire, she melted against him, her hands wrapping around his broad shoulders. Tsukasa broke the kiss, digging his wallet out of his pocket.

He unrolled a sheaf of bills and grabbing her hand, thrust them into her palm. She stared at them in surprise.

“You have to get some food,” he said gruffly. “Maybe some more of those noodles.”

She laughed and jumped up to hug him, astonishing him. He had barely wrapped his arms around her, when she gave a peck on his check and slipped down. 

“Gosh, you’d better watch out before you acquire trashy tastes,” she said chirpily. 

He grinned at her. “Whatever. I’m the one with class here.” Tsukasa walked off, smiling broadly as he heard her tinkling laugh following him. 

________________________________________

“There is no excuse! I want those construction sites closed.” Tsukasa stared down his dark mahogany executive table, both sides lined with anxious appearing men. Some of them were hiding behind their colleagues, afraid to call notice to themselves. 

“But, Doumyouji-sama, it will still take some months to complete-” the one who had spoken up stopped abruptly, turned to rock by the lashing glare of his boss.

“I don’t care what has to happen,” Tsukasa said in icily quiet tones, “those sites will be complete. Immediately.”

Several heads nodded simultaneously. “Yes, Doumyouji-sama,” said the same man who had spoken before, chastened. 

Tsukasa glanced down at his watch; it was ten to four. He straightened up, “Fine, meeting adjourned.” He strode out of the room, a posse of men scurrying behind him, some clucking quietly about the brevity of the meeting. With quick steps, he returned to his suite of offices down the hall from the executive board room, oblivious to the conversations around him.

Striding past the outer entryway to his suite and into his PA’s office, Tsukasa barely missed stopping in time as one of the cleaning women accidently dropped a trashcan in front of him; collectively, the men behind him cringed, their breaths held for the explosion. He merely raised his brows in mild surprise, picking up the can and shoving the fallen papers inside. 

“Here you go,” he said calmly, holding out the trashcan. The woman stared at him in shock, and then with alacrity accepted back her can with profuse apologies. The harem of men surrounding him all noticed this exchange, commenting amongst themselves as they dispersed that his moods had improved considerably of late. 

Tsukasa, oblivious to the tidal wave of gossip he had created, went directly to his office. With focused concentration, he gathered his jacket, itching to leave because it was Friday and she would be waiting for him.

Tsukasa strode onto the elevator, pressing the button to the floor of the parking garage. As the doors quietly slid closed, Tsukasa gave a small grin. “What will she be doing this time?” he thought. The last few times he had gone to see her, she had been in the process of cooking something or other to feed him once he got there. 

Without realizing it, he was whistling as he walked to his car. He swiftly maneuvered out of Tokyo, heading east. Tsukasa tapped the rhythm of the music filling his car on the steering wheel, his mind wandering over the events of the past few weeks. Since he had returned to her, he had gone back each successive weekend to the point where he left for Tokyo on Sunday and arrived in the village after work by Friday evening.  
They would spend the entire time together, almost exclusively at Rui’s place; the few times they managed to leave, they would spend sailing.

He had asked her what she was telling her parents. “Oh, I told them I was visiting a friend in a different village.” 

“Won’t they notice your skiff missing?” he had asked. She had laughed, waving her hand. “They don’t even notice their own feet.”

As he neared the now familiar roads, his excitement intensified, his hands burning to bury themselves in her hair. It was now weeks since they had been seeing each other and he knew he was obsessed with her. From when he awoke to when he lay down, he would lust for her, his days distracted by constant thoughts of her, to the point...he paused in his musings, an image forming in his mind. 

_Tsukushi in his home, in Tokyo._

He swallowed harshly, forcing the image from his mind. He would ask her, he simply had to find the right time. 

Nearing the parking area to the docks, he noticed the object of his thoughts not too far off in an animated conversation with a child. He parked and emerged from his car, realizing the kid that she was talking to was the same one he had run into that first day here.

“Hi,” she called, waving to him. They both held fishing poles in their hands; Tsukasa grinned. 

“Are you going to work for your supper?”

She grinned back at him. “Yes and you are too!” Tsukushi gestured to the boy next to her, “Tsukasa this is Einsuke Shotaro. Shotaro this is Doumyouji Tsukasa.”

The boy, Shotaro, was practically bouncing in his eagerness, “Sir, sir! Come fishing with us,” he exclaimed, thrusting his fishing pole at Tsukasa. He took it from the boy and raised a questioning brow to Tsukushi. 

She merely smiled at him and patted Shotaro on the back which sent him sprinting in the direction opposite to the docks, along the rocky shore. They went about twenty yards away, stopping on a low outcropping of rock. The boy talked nonstop, filling Tsukasa in on the details of his apple sales as he threw himself down, launching the fishing line in with gusto.

Tsukasa looked at Tsukushi who gently pushed him to sit next to the boy, placing the fishing pole in his hands. She instructed him on what to do and sat back as the boy and the man fished. 

“You know, Tsukushi-chan, you didn’t tell me how you know Sir?”

“Oh,” she said nonchalantly, “he’s just visiting here.”

Tsukasa stared at her through narrowed eyes, disturbed by the insouciance of her reply. He was about to ask her about her comment when the boy suddenly sprang up as if a fit had seized him. 

“Oh, I got one! I think it’s big too!” he exclaimed, hauling the pole back, apparently trying to drag the fish out of the water. Tsukushi ran behind him, helping him to focus on reeling the spool back as his catch tried desperately to escape. 

Within seconds, they landed the fish, Shotaro leaving the pole in Tsukushi’s hands, jumping up and down in excitement. Tsukasa looked on, a smirk on his face at their antics until he felt a tug on his hands.

“Hey,” he called out, his grip tightening over the wooden pole. “I think I got one too!”

Tsukushi quickly dropped the pole in her hands and rushed to his side, steadying his grip on the pole as Tsukasa fought to pull back on the line. 

“You think you can get away?” he shouted, “Not from me!”

“Yeah,” Shotaro hollered, “not from Sir!” 

Tsukasa hauled the last bit of the trembling line in, a gray, glistening fish at the end of it squirming fiercely. After mutually admiring each others’ then their own catches, they watched a laughing Tsukushi cut the lines and hand over both to the boy. Tsukasa stood with Tsukushi, watching Shotaro run home, his fish dangling from their line in either hand. 

“Bye,” Tsukushi called out, waving. She turned to him, a quiet look of happiness on her face. “Ready?” she asked.

He merely nodded his head and they walked back to the docks.

“Did you have fun?” she asked softly. He looked at her, her head down bent, her hair glowing in the last rays of the dying sun. 

“Yes,” he said simply but truthfully, “I did.” She smiled at him and caught his hand, squeezing his fingers gently. It seemed no time at all before they arrived at the island and they made their way in, Tsukushi carrying a small package with her while he had their duffel bags.

She went directly to the kitchen, shooing him off to change from his work clothes. Walking back to the kitchen, he inhaled the savory fragrance of warm food. “I made stew,” she said proudly, seating him down and setting a bowl of beef stew before him. He ate hungrily, answering her questions about his week and expressing his views on the trials her mother put her through. When he was finished, he sat still, watching the expressions run through her face as she chattered on. After a few moments, she seemed to become aware that he was silent and looked up at him. 

“Tsukasa?” she questioned, her eyes concerned. 

Something shifted within him at that look, something indefinable and he felt he had to move, to act before _it,_ whatever it was, overwhelmed him. 

_For so long there had been no one, no one to ask about him, no one to care for, no one to-._

He broke off the thought desperately, lunging forward and crushing her lips under his.

He felt different; he knew she realized it in that kiss. Her pupils dilating, she tried to speak, “Tsuk-” he swallowed his name off her lips, plunging his tongue into her mouth, drinking her in. He grabbed at her roughly, clenching her soft body to his. They staggered to the bedroom, Tsukasa ripping off her clothes as they went. He kissed every smooth inch of her, his arousal rocketing as she shivered under him. 

“Oh,” she exclaimed in a delicious gasp. He wanted to inhale her, to join and mingle with her, to carry her scent on him so that when he was away from her, he could still smell her. He wanted to devour her, to consume her into his body, into his skin--to bind with her so tightly, she could never part from him. 

It was driving him mad--these things he felt for her. After he sated his desire and her own, he watched her sleep, his fingers gently sliding through the silky hair at her temple. In all his life, he had never felt this way before about another human being-this all-consuming greed. It made him vulnerable and soft, things he hadn’t been in a long time…if ever. He wanted to whisper gently to her, wanted her say things back to him, but would she? He drew his name against the tender skin at her temple, his big finger rustling the fine hair. 

She softly giggled, the sound breaking into his thoughts. 

“You’re tickling,” she sighed, curling her body towards him.

“Well, all you’re doing is sleeping,” he pouted. “Reminds me of Rui.”

“Oh, Rui is beautiful…” Tsukushi said sleepily.

Tsukasa froze, a lance of jealousy springing white-hot in his chest. “What?” 

But she had fallen back into sleep, her breathing deep and rhythmic. Tsukasa leaned back, his heart pounding. “I must have heard wrong,” he thought, rubbing a hand through his hair. But the rest of the night he slept fitfully, angry at the lacerating jealousy coursing through him at the mere mention of another man’s name from Tsukushi’s lips.

The next morning he woke late, missing her warmth in bed. He found her cleaning in the kitchen and dragged her back to bed intent on enjoying his time with her. He refused to think on what she had said the night before, blocking the sickening note of fear that had crawled into him, unable to ask her what she had said. 

She was very tired the next day as they returned to the village. Tsukasa stared at her, concerned. “You need to eat more!” he yelled. “What are you doing, living on a seaweed diet?” 

The sun was beginning to set and he stood behind his car door, about to get in. She clung to the top, eyelids drooping a bit, hair wisping out with the cool breeze. He paused in his lecturing when she yawned widely and blinked wearily up at him. He bent his head, the force of his kiss thrusting her back a bit. 

Raising his head, Tsukasa cleared his throat, the question that had been burning in his chest for two nights rushing out in an unstoppable torrent. “What does Rui come here for?” 

She looked surprised, “Hanazawa Rui? Oh, he has been here only a few times. Stays a few hours and then he leaves. I’ve only seen him, um, maybe two times.”

He nodded, comforted by her answer. Hadn’t Rui said he would come back to sleep here? 

“Well,” he said, “go home and sleep.” She smiled at him and he had to resist the urge to grin back while he was attempting to admonish her and climbed into his car, shutting the door. As he turned his car to the main road, he glanced back at her through his window and she blew a kiss at him, waving until he could no longer see her. He didn’t stop smiling until he had reached Tokyo. 

It was after he had been in Tokyo awhile that doubt began to plague him. While he lay in bed, alone, he thought of her, unsure of what she was doing, if she was missing him. Clenching his jaw tightly, he delved into the lurking misgiving about the suspicious ease with which she had given herself to him. _What if he didn’t matter to her?_

“No,” he said aloud, burying the thought firmly. She had not used the words, but Tsukasa was sure she cared for him. 

However, his dark suspicions would not remain buried when not even a day later they were enflamed, this time by Hanazawa Rui. They met at a social function, Tsukasa standing to one side of the gallery where the party was being hosted, bored, when he saw Rui approach. 

“Oi, why are you so late?” Tsukasa called out, rattling the ice in his glass of whiskey. 

Rui blinked, “I forgot the time.”

Tsukasa rolled his eyes, “I don’t even want to know, but I’m guessing it has to do with sleep.”

Rui shook his head, saying “I haven’t taken a good nap since leaving the village.”

“Oh yeah, you go there too.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Tsukasa realized his mistake but saw Rui merely nod his head.

“Yes, me too.”

Tsukasa looked at him through narrowed eyes, realizing that Rui knew something. 

He said slowly, “I see. Well, we’re using your house for now,” testing the extent of Rui’s knowledge. His guess was confirmed when Rui nodded. 

Pausing for a moment, Rui then asked, “Tsukasa, do you know what you are doing? 

Surprised, he stared a bit then scoffed. “Of course I know.”

Rui paused again. “Then, why don’t you care for her better?” he asked finally in his monotone way.

“Why the fuck are you worried about her? She’s my problem,” Tsukasa bit out at him, growing furious at Rui’s prying.

Rui looked at him with omniscient eyes, “That’s just it—she’s a woman, not a problem.” 

Tsukasa glared at him. “Mind your own business, Rui.”

He turned away, hiding the force of his rage. Tossing back the rest of his whiskey, Tsukasa turned forward, not making eye contact with Rui. 

“I’m out,” he drawled. “This shit is boring as hell.” 

He strode off, not waiting for Rui’s response, slamming his glass onto a table as he left. Retrieving his car from a valet, he gunned the engine, tearing furiously out of the parking area. Over and over, Rui’s face flashed through his mind, his phrase, _why don’t you care for her better_ , repeating endlessly. He tore into his driveway, obscene images running through his mind. The seed had been planted and distrust flourished: he questioned what he knew about her and what he knew her to be capable of. _She was the one who had started it – what if she also wanted Rui?_ His heart throbbed in his chest, choking the air in his throat. 

“Stop,” he told himself, clutching his head in his hand. He needed some answers before he was driven mad. He picked up his phone, punching in the name of the one he sought.

“Rui,” he paused, “lunch tomorrow?”

The next day, Tsukasa waited impatiently for Rui to join him at the sleek restaurant not far from the Hanazawa building. His plan was to probe Rui for information, clarifying what, if anything, had happened between Rui and Tsukushi. However, after their initial greeting both lapsed into silence, Tsukasa distinctly uneasy to initiate his questioning. After a few minutes of silent tension, Rui excused himself to the restroom.

Tsukasa drummed his fingers impatiently; this was not going the way he had imagined. He had thought he would ask Rui, who would den- 

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft melody. Looking down, he realized Rui had left his phone on the table and he was about to turn away when something about the kanji forced his gaze.

Did it say _Tsukushi_?

The blood pounding in his ears, Tsukasa reached out a hand towards Rui’s phone when it was snatched up. In shock, Tsukasa saw Rui placing it at his ear.

“Hello?” Rui said quickly, unlike himself. “Ok, I’ll be there.”

He turned to Tsukasa, an apologetic look on his face. “I have to go. I’ll call you later.” Not waiting for a response, Rui left, leaving a still dazed Tsukasa behind.

_What the fuck just happened?_

He managed to leave the restaurant, heading directly to where the chauffer was waiting with the car ready. As they cut expertly through the streets to the Doumyouji Corporation building, Tsukasa struggled for control. 

“I must have been mistaken,” he thought, trying to breathe deeply through the nauseating lurch of desperation clawing through him. Striving to conquer his agitation, he quickly returned to his office and picked up his phone. He dialed the number to Rui’s secretary. 

“Hello,” he bite out impatiently. “Where is Rui? I need him. Now.” 

“Hai, Doumyouji-sama? Hold on while I track the GPS the chauffeur he is with has.” There was a minute pause, only moments, but Tsukasa could feel the tension rocketing within him.

“I’m sorry, one moment please Doumyouji-sama,” she said, but then Tsukasa heard her mutter under her breath, “this can’t be right.”

“What?” he asked tersely. 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again, “but it says here that he went to somewhere on the remote east coast but that can’t be correct…”

Tsukasa went stone deaf to her words, the roaring in his ears drowning the secretary’s nattering.

Heart pounding, Tsukasa left his driver’s car to head straight through the building to the garage, utterly ignorant of the men prattling after him in his wake. His mind a blank, he got into his car and raced to the east, towards the sea.

He arrived just as the sun was setting beyond the horizon of the sea, an orange glow lighting his path. Making his way up to the docks, he stopped suddenly, his head clamoring with dissonance. Before him was a couple, standing apart from each other, but locked by their hands, clasping onto the other. As he watched, he saw her move into Rui’s embrace. And he could feel it - could actually feel the tearing, the ripping of his heart into pieces. As he watched them, as he saw Rui bend his light head over Tsukushi’s darker one, he felt rage well inside, replacing the noise. A white-hot surge of fury ripe with despair. 

He felt something slippery in his hand and, looking down he saw blood dripping from his fist. He had clenched it so tightly his keys had ripped the skin of his palm. 

He watched the blood drip down. As hers would.


	3. Chapter 3

The sky was filled with grey clouds, a dismal shade filtering through to the world below and casting a gloomy shroud to all. Fishermen and vendors alike took the cue provided by nature and sought refuge indoors, either in the warmth of their homes or with drinks among friends, grateful to escape the cold chill blown from the sea. 

All except one.

She was standing by the mouth of the harbor, her worried gaze scanning out to the road in anxious distress, her bottom lip being chewed between her teeth. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, attempting to generate warmth throughout her shivering body. A sound penetrated through the damp fog and she turned towards it, her eyes widening as the light diverged from one into the glare of two headlights.

The girl gave a deep sigh as the car drew up to her and stopped. Moments passed, too long for her and she jerked towards the car when the door suddenly flung open, scaring her into stillness. A dark figure emerged, towering above her against the gray sky.

Tsukushi swallowed, “You’re here.”

Tsukasa stared at her through hooded eyes. He did not speak for so long that she began to move towards him in distress when he replied. “Yeah.”

Starting, hesitation drawn on her face by his cold manner, she held out a hand to him, “I know you said that you would be here today, but…” Her fingers stretched out to him, her eyes concerned, “You were late. I was worried.”

An arc of fury, so white hot in its intensity it scorched his insides burnt through Tsukasa. _She was worried?!_ He thought maddened by her words and her pleading face – he had spent a week, _fucking seven days_ , reliving what he had seen. How she had gone to Rui, embraced him. On Friday, the day he was to drive down, he had begun drinking by noon, fury and anger boiling inside of him, with thoughts of confronting her, of ripping her apart with her betrayal storming through him. But as night had fallen, as he had stood in his room, staring at her name in his phone, a dark voice spoke to him. 

_If you don’t go, she’ll just turn to Rui._

Without even thinking, he had pressed her number, muttering to her that he would be there the following night and hung up on her questioning voice. He had slammed his phone down, the table shaking before him and with an enraged bellow had flung it aside, smashing it against the wall, demented at his weakness for her. 

Raising an eyebrow at her words, he replied harshly, “Did I say when I would be here?

Tsukushi flinched, her hand falling aside. “Uh no, I, uh, thought…”she paused. “No,” she said finally, “you didn’t.”

He nodded. “Let’s go then.” She stood looking at him in uncertainty and then turned, leading the way down the docks.

Walking behind her, he stared into the back of her skull, thinking how easy it would be to crush her under him, her size nothing to match his own. To see the life squeeze out of her…to steal the very breathe within her. He said nothing as they set sail. All around them swirled grayness, the waters tinted a darker hue than the sky, seemingly surrounding them in a circle of gloom but before him all he could see was her, her body, the body that she had used to tempt him, that she had used to trap him but every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was her with Rui. He hadn’t been able to sleep, to work for the rage coursing through him. He would destroy her, he thought, moving purposefully towards her, a chilling calmness stealing through him. 

She didn’t hear him until he was behind her and had wrenched her to face him. She gasped in shock, turned rigid with his violent movement. 

Her scent was overpowering his cold, her lips, intoxicating before him, swaying him to take her, to ravage her as hard as he could. Before he could stop, he was plundering those very lips, crushing their softness. She gave a slight pant and he shoved his tongue into the moistness of her mouth. One hand reaching to tangle in the silk of her hair, Tsukasa wrapped the other around her, clutching her body into his.

“No, no,” Tsukasa groaned, his fury running, shifting into lust. He wanted her even in the midst of his disgust, _in spite of it_. Thrusting her against the side of the boat, he kissed her savagely, mauling her mouth with his.

The seas roared around them, sprays of salt slapping them across their faces. The wind clipped at the small sails, tilting the skiff dangerously in the roiling waters. 

Tsukushi pushed against him, gasping, “Stop Tsukasa, stop! I have to maneuver!”

He released her, his hands shaking as they dropped from her face. She stared up at him for a moment and then raced to the helm. He gripped onto the side of the boat, the wood crunching beneath his fists. 

“What the fuck am I doing?” he raged, torment struggling in his chest. He had returned to punish her, to wound her as she had him, but as soon as he had seen her, as her scent had entered him his mind had clouded, his plans twisting under the dark desire she created.  
“Why,” he screamed, “why the fuck was it Rui?” His cries were lost amidst the howling of the winds and with a deep groan he buried his face in his hands. His head was throbbing, a cacophony of hurtful thoughts and obscenities storming through him, visions of using her, brutalizing her, leaving her, distracting her and letting them capsize jarring through his mind, half-flung ideas and violent images crashing. Because what did he have? So what if he was flung into the treacherous sea with her?

_But what punishment is oblivion for her?_

He flinched at the thought, and gripping the hair at his temples between his fists, he called forth all his will to slow his rage, to rein his throbbing heart. 

Tsukushi did not return to him until they had reached the island, her energy fueled into achieving their destination through the storm they had entered. When she did find him, after having docked, he stood silently watching her. Her clothes were soaked through like his, water sluicing off her body from the howling skies. 

“Tsukasa,” she said tentatively. He grabbed her hand and ran her inside, dropping their bags in the foyer. Sopping wet, he turned from her, wrenching his belt off his pants, intent on taking a shower. Aggression attending his every movement, he continued his stripping along the way to the bathroom until behind him he heard a small noise. He paused, listening closely and then heard it again, a small suppressed sneeze. Emotion swept through his head and he clenched his eyes shut at the force of it. _Ignore it._ But willfully his legs turned back, taking him to the kitchen where Tsukushi had stopped to pick up his strewn clothes. 

“Leave those,” he said harshly. Tsukushi started, “Oh, but they need to be dried,” she began, her hands clutching his belt and sweater.

“Later” he said, ripping the clothes from her hands and tossing them over a chair. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him to the bathroom. Not releasing his grasp on her, he turned to the shower, forced the handle to release steaming hot water before tossing off the rest of his clothing. 

Tsukasa turned towards her still figure and began tearing her clothing off with a growl. She whimpered slightly, the small noise infuriating him further and he threw her into the shower, slamming her back against the glass wall, his hand gripping her throat and…she stood still before him, her eyes closed, her plump lips move lightly with her slight breathing. 

It was as if he was hit by lightening, suddenly thrust back to the first time he had taken her, had entered her and seen that same look on her face - half worshipful and half penitent. Her lips parted lightly again and mesmerized by the small movement, he loosened his grip and bent forward, capturing that silky mouth to his own. 

_What the fuck are you doing?_ screamed a voice in his head. He ignored it, ignored thinking about anything, as he slid his tongue inside of her, through the hot, melting moistness. As the spray of scalding hot water fell, heating up their chilled skin, he pressed against her body tightly, his chest against the hard points of her breasts, his thigh cleaving between hers. All he could feel around him was her, the slender length of her, the aching yielding and his hand released her throat to squeeze her breast, his fingers rough on her pouting nipple. He relinquished her mouth, panting as she gasped for air. 

_No, no, no! Don’t fall for this again!_

But there was no surcease – his cock was twitching pressed up against her supple belly, dying to be buried within her drenched body. With harsh hands, he parted her thighs, driving himself between her spread legs and still she had her eyes closed, only her mouth moving as she gulped in air. Heaving a muted roar, he lunged into her in one slick motion, impaling her on his prick, embedding deep within her tightness.

“Oof,” Tsukushi gasped, her eyes plunging open with his brutal thrust. 

“That’s right,” he growled, “look at me and know that’s it me fucking you.” He pounded into her in a punishing rhythm, his hands braced against either side of her head snapping his hips each time he drove into her. She grasped his shoulders in her hands, hanging on as he battered her against the stall of the shower, his chest rubbing painfully against her red, engorged nipples. 

He bowed his head near her own, heard her panting, her “Oh, oh, oh,” ringing in his ears as he fucked her senseless. Water squelched around them, dripping through his hair, flattening it to his skull and as he picked his head up, a strand caught on her lips, a slick black line lying across her wet pink bottom lip. As he watched, she flicked it onto her tongue, curling it around into her mouth. Feeling the familiar tingling in his back, he arched into her, his muscles clenching tautly as he pounded his seed into her clasping warmth. 

“Ohhh,” she whimpered, her pussy clutching around him signaling her own release. With trembling hands, he released her, his head bowed and unable to watch as she quickly left. He stood against the pounding shower, his fist braced against the tile wall and cursed, water pouring over him. 

“How can I leave her,” he thought in despair, “when I can’t even leave the same room?”

He moved automatically, turning off the water, drying himself then clothing himself in the articles that she had laid out on the bed for him. Wrapped in a dampening fog, he headed towards the kitchen where he found her watching the storm from the window. He felt stiff and mechanical, unable to think, unable to feel as he stared at her back with a hooded gaze. 

Hearing him come in, she turned towards him. “Are you hungry?” she asked, her head tilting to one side. He shook his head, unable to meet her eyes, unable to look on her.

Nodding her head, she softly began talking about her week, going into great detail about some cargo runs that she had undertaken. As she talked, he took a seat at the maple wood table, his eyes focused on his hands resting on the table, the numbing quiet surging in his ears. 

She was pouring water into glasses, when he spoke up quietly, “Why don’t we go on a trip together?” 

_Clink!_ Water spilled from the pitcher as she clumsily righted the glass that had nearly fallen. “Oh,” she said hastily, “a trip sounds nice.” His heart clenched and he dared to look up at her, finding her head averted as she dealt quickly with the spilt water. 

Clearing his throat, he replied, “Somewhere far then, away from-“ He stopped suddenly, unable to complete the sentence. 

She gazed at him, her eyes concerned, “Is Tokyo getting too much?” she asked softly. 

Tsukasa looked up at her, surprised. “Why do ask that?” he asked, her enquiry catching him abruptly from his dark brooding. 

She cleared her throat delicately, looking down, “From some of the things you’ve said before, it sounds that sometimes it becomes too constricting.” She looked up at him, “At times…” she paused then rushed on, “at times, it sounds like your life is very lonely.” Before he could comment, she continued, “Maybe I’m wrong though; I mean that’s how I felt there but maybe that was only me.” 

He turned to her, a questioning look on his face as she had never told him that she had once lived in the city. 

She said that they had lived there before, that they had moved because of her parents and their poor finances but how she had come to love the village. “I feel a freedom here that I never remember from my childhood,” Tsukushi replied. 

“There is nowhere like that for me,” he muttered, “not even here.” 

Tsukushi stroked his shoulder gently, “I’ll go up first.” She left him to his thoughts though he would never have been able to state exactly what those were. After what felt like hours, he rose, no wiser in his mind. 

Tsukasa found her laying in bed, watching the storm from the window again. He took off her nightgown, tossing it over his shoulder as he kissed her slowly. She ran her hands gently over his chest, cresting upwards to his neck and drawing him down onto her. They made love that night, slowly and as she lay beneath him, tears slid from her eyes. 

“Oh,” she gasped, wiping the corner of her eye with her fingertip. She gave a watery sigh, “My emotions are a bit off.” 

His brow furrowed, he watched her with dark, somber eyes. “Please,” she whispered, “don’t mind me.” He moved away from her slightly, separating them and rolled over onto his back, careful not to touch her. However, she followed him, curling up next to him; he could gradually hear her breathing slow into the deep waves of sleep. 

Looking down, Tsukasa saw her face in the stray moonlight, some moisture still clinging to her long lashes. With a groan, he clenched her sleeping head to him, burying his face in her hair. He lay like this throughout the night, and as sun lifted behind gray clouds, casting a clammy light in the room, he realized that he had decided what he would do as he had lain sleepless next to her. He had decided to keep her with him, away from Rui, away from everyone else except himself. 

“Even though she is what she is,” his fists tightening around her hair, “I can’t let her go,” he thought despairingly, gripping her to him. 

_I love her._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He could hear it…the anxious beating of her heart. 

Even though the sun had forsaken the sky this day, the pitch darkness of night could be seen seeping from the clouds heralding the approaching night. As the hour got later and later, Tsukasa had watched as Tsukushi became more and more tense, her darting glances to him slicing new gashes into his torment. He knew – he would have to be blind not to see! – that she was desperate to leave…that she wanted to escape. Progressively, she had been getting more worried throughout the day as they haven’t left yet, her anxiety fueling his jealousy because he knew that she wanted to escape. 

He stood in the doorway to the kitchen as he watched her fiddle with their duffle bags. 

_Do you see, she can’t wait to leave – she can’t wait to be rid of you!_

Anger and pain swept through him in unending waves and finally unable to withstand anymore, he declared that she would come with him to Tokyo.

She gasped, “What?”

His lips hardened. “Tokyo, you are coming with me to Tokyo.”

She shook her head slowly – “No, I can’t do that.”

“You have no choice,” but his heart throbbed blindly in his chest.

She continued to deny it, more frantically now, “No, no! I can’t!”

The tidal wave of rage that surged through him nearly took his breath away as every nerve ending processed the hurt of her rejection. She had refused him.  
Choking back the insidious pain, he felt his rage skyrocket, “You slut,” he shouted. “I knew it! I knew you were throwing yourself at him!”

“What?” she gasped, her face shocked. 

The look on Tsukushi’s face infuriated him, and he towered over her. “You! Sleeping around with whoever – isn’t that what you came to me for? Didn’t even know me but you spread your legs-“

“No!” she screamed her denial, shaking her head and stepping back from his insane cruelty. “No,” she tearfully denied, “it wasn’t like that for me.” One hand went to her throat while the other she half-splayed to him fearfully. “I didn’t know you that’s true but-

“But what? You’re easy? I fucking know that already!” he screamed, a vein bulging in his neck. He felt his anger grow, not diminish as tears leaked from her eyes. 

“I saw you,” she sobbed, “I saw you with Shotaro…” she gasped for breath, her tears clogging in her throat, “I saw how you treated him and I…I fell in love with you.”

“Don’t you say that to me!” he shouted while a deeper part of him whispered at him to believe it. 

_Because then this will all go away…she will stay yours._

“No,” Tsukasa roared. “Don’t try to mess me with me!” He grabbed her by the elbow, “I saw you with him!” A pounding starts on the door – enraged, he shakes her by the upper arms. “I will never let you go,” he hissed. 

The pounding stopped abruptly as Rui came in.

Tsukasa yelled at him, “What the hell are you doing here?” He turned on her, shaking her so that her hair flew about. “Is it Rui?!”

She stared up at him, crushed.

Rui yelled out, “Tsukasa, stop! Stop - she’s pregnant – with your baby!”

Tsukasa froze, stunned. 

Tsukushi gasped, her face a mass of tears. “Why did you tell him, Rui?” she sobbed.

“Is it true?” Tsukasa asked her hoarsely, blood thundering in his ears. Tsukushi looked at him pitifully. Without replying, she turned and fled through the door into the howling wind and rain raging outside. 

Rui gave him painful smirk,"I just came to sleep today, like you said and I saw the boat here." He looked as concerned as Tsukasa had ever seen him, "About Tsukushi, I had found her one day, sobbing her heart out; she didn’t want to tell me what was wrong, but something about the way that she looked when I said your name made me keep asking her about it. She broke down and told me that she was pregnant, but then,” he sighed. “She made me swear not to tell you – that you would be furious and she didn’t want to bother you. All she thought about was you.”

Tsukasa closed his eyes in self-loathing. _Oh, God – what have I done?_ Clenching his fists, he ran out after her.

He saw her running towards the beach and swiftly ran towards her, his breath locking in his throat. As he reached closer, she looked back and gasped, trying to move faster but suddenly tripped, falling to the ground. “Be careful!” he shouted, catching up to her on the ground, sliding down on his knees. 

“Get away!” She screamed at him, scrambling backwards on the beach. With a wild slash she grabbed and threw some sand at him. While he flinched, she scrambled up violently lurching. “Be careful,” he began again, rising, “you’ll hurt yourself.” 

“What do you care?” she said harshly. 

Tsukasa closed his eyes, sorrow overwhelming him. “You should say that,” he said gruffly, “but don’t hurt yourself because of me.” 

She starts weeping, deep gut-wrenching sobs. Tsukasa stood before her watching her painful tears but only able to spasmodically clench his fists. “It was so sudden for me…you were not there one day and the next, you filled my whole world.” She sucked in a ragged breath, nearly choking on her tears again, “And then I found out I was pregnant…but how could I tell you about the baby?” 

“I mean, how clichéd,” she sobbed. “The poor village _idiot_ gets knocked up by the rich businessman.” Her face constricted, “I know I behaved like a slut.”

“No.”

“No, don’t lie,” she screamed at him. “You said it! You believed it – you, you,” she gasped painfully, “you thought I had slept with Rui!” But, here she fell apart, sobbing dreadfully. Tsukasa tried to move to her, but she flinched away from him. “I did, I did throw myself at you, because I knew you would leave and that would be all.” 

“Oh God, I don’t even know what happened, I saw you…and…I…never before…I,” she gasped disjointedly. “What did I do?” She hugged at herself. 

“No!” he grabbed for her. “It was me!” He paused and then looked away from her. “It was too easy,” he murmured. 

Tsukushi flared up, struggling against his grip on her arms, “You mean I was too easy?” she spat. “Just-“ 

“No!” he roared. His ferocity caused her to jerk back, but he refused to lighten his grip. “No,” he said, his words coming rapidly, a tic beating near his mouth. “I – it was me, I didn’t, couldn’t trust you. That had never happened to me before, someone, a woman wanting me…me alone. Not my name, my wealth, my power.” He looked up at her, “I didn’t trust it or you because I didn’t know it could be like that, I didn’t know what it was.”

“It was nothing,” she said bitterly, “nothing but a mistake.” She was crouched over, refusing to glance at him, removing her body as far away as she could manage from within his clasp. Tsukasa felt his stomach seize in fear. 

“Don’t do this,” he rasped. “We both wanted what happened but I didn’t even trust myself enough to speak with you. But we did meet and we are together. Do you think I’ll let you talk yourself out of this? I still needed you even when I thought you were with Rui.”

Tsukasa felt his heart pound in his ears; she had grabbed her love with both hands. Now he would do the same.

He tried to clasp her, wrapping his arms around her slim body, but she resisted, tearing at him wildly. He took it from her, and she stops, then gave a watery sigh and leaned against him.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, running a shaky hand gently over her hair. “Tsukushi, come with me, stay here, whatever. Wherever it is, I’m going to be there.”

She tilted her head up, the tears in her eyes overflowing as she gazed up at him, “Oh, Tsukasa,” she whispered. “You can’t,” she began but he grasped either side of her neck, cradling her head in his hands.

“The hell I can’t,” he said roughly, “you are mine, the sanest, clearest part of me.” 

She looked up at him, her eyes drowning in tears holding onto his and Tsukasa felt his heart _clench_ suspended. Slowly, tremulously she smiled, her hands rising up to hold his chest. He bent his head down, placing it alongside hers; the wet of her tears clung to his cheeks, as he drew in the scent of her hair. Behind her the first rays of the sun stretched, the rosy tips embracing the aqua sea, stilling the air with the calmness of light.

“You, only you let me feel free,” he breathed into her ear.

 

fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said at the beginning, very OOC. Durm und strang to be sure, but at times we need angst like this, right? 
> 
> The first 2 parts were beta’d, the last not, so any mistakes contained therein are all mine. 
> 
> Cross-posted from AFF.net


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